Washington, DC (PRWEB) March 18, 2009 -- AIS's Drug Benefit News -- Demand for Web-based prescription drug pricing tools and Rx discount programs has soared in recent months, according to pharmacy executives who point to the weak economy and greater employee cost sharing of Rx coverage as likely reasons for the trend. Aiming to address the demand, at least one large health plan, WellPoint, Inc., tells Drug Benefit News (DBN) that it intends to significantly increase marketing for its own prescription assistance card, which already is soaring in usage. Go to http://www.aishealth.com/pdf/dbn031309.pdf to read this article in its entirety.
PatientAssistance.com, for example, is experiencing a 25% to 30% increase in daily hits to the site compared with last year, says Rex Bowden, president of the online nonprofit group that helps individuals find lower-priced drugs through the thousands of existing patient assistance programs. "There is a phenomenal amount of interest and inquiry," Bowden tells DBN.
DestinationRx, Inc. is seeing an even greater uptick in utilization of its online Rx price comparison tool, according to James Yocum, executive vice president. From January 2007 to May 2007, there was no growth whatsoever at the company, he says. "From June '07 to October of '08, we had a 144% compounded annual growth rate," says Yocum, who adds that he's "never seen this kind of price sensitivity before." He attributes the increased utilization in part to more employers shifting health care costs onto employees through coinsurance plan designs.
The same story is being played out at Medco Health Solutions, Inc., where the PBM giant is seeing significant utilization increases for its online tool, My Rx Choices. "Beginning at the end of January, we're seeing anywhere between a 20% and 25% increase in both the daily use of the tool, and more importantly, the number of kits that get printed out at the back end so that people can go talk to their doctors," says Tom Feitel, chief Web officer at Medco.
WellPoint also is seeing a surge of demand for its NextRx Prescription Savings Card, which the insurer launched last year and is available at no cost to members who have lost coverage. The card can save consumers up to 22% on brand drugs and 50% on generic drugs, according to the company. In 2008, the program processed 115,000 prescriptions, says Chris Rodino, the product development consultant at WellPoint who oversees the program. In the first two months of 2009, the program has already processed 164,000 prescriptions, he says.
This is an excerpt from AIS's Drug Benefit News. To read the full story, visit http://www.aishealth.com/pdf/dbn031309.pdf.
About Drug Benefit News:
Published biweekly, this newsletter provides timely news and data on the business of pharmaceuticals...and practical cost management strategies from experts throughout the industry. Issues include data on high-cost drug categories, an insider look at what HMOs and PBMs are doing, and information that helps its readers benchmark results and experiences.
###
National Pharmacy Technician Association Offers Online Training Program To Become A Pharmacy Technician
The National Pharmacy Technician Association (NPTA) announced today the launch of the Official NPTA Pharmacy Technician Certificate Program™, a comprehensive online training program. The new program is designed to meet the growing demand for qualified, educated pharmacy technicians as well as the flexibility and affordability required by prospective students.
Levitra - An Outstanding Erectile dysfunction treatment
About Levitra
Attorney General Eric Holder Praises Nation’s Drug Courts
Pledges to help put a Drug Court within reach of every person in need
Types of Marijuana and Cocaine Drug Detection
Marijuana and Cocaine are among the popular drugs abused in U.S. According to survey conducted by National Drug Control, more than 40% of high school students abused marijuana and more than 1.5 million high school students abused cocaine at least once in their lifetime. School children age 12 and older who abused Marijuana and Cocaine in any form are more than 25 million and 7 million respectively. So, these numbers increased the importance of drug detection of marijuana and cocaine among youngsters.
Online medical store: 24X7 Pharmacy
Good health is an important matter that cannot be neglected at any cost. Yet, one cannot deny the fact that human is a mortal being that has to born and die. However, in order to remain active and free from disease and ill health, it is very important for us to take proper medical treatment at the time of medical urgency. Well, imagine a time middle of night you are in a dire need of medical treatment and are unable to find a chemist store. Indeed, this can be a dreadful nightmare. Therefore, in order to help you in such crucial situations, 24X7 Pharmacy (www.24X7pharmacy.com) offers an online medicine portal and a one stop shop for all medical needs ranging from online pharmacy consultation to drugs like online pharmacy celebrex and online ...
Acomplia Online | Canadian Mail Order Pharmacy | Buy Acomplia
Do you think any prescription pharmacy is more famous than Canadian prescriptions pharmacy? The most effective drug producer in the world is Canadian mail order pharmacy. The reason why Canadian mail order pharmacy is popular among people is that it facilitates the cultivation of health across the world more than any other foreign pharmacy. Canadian mail order pharmacy has revolutionized the world with its supreme meds; those who have consumed drugs manufactured by Canadian mail order pharmacy are living happy and normal life.
Customer Can Now Buy Fioricet Without Prescription
You can now buy Fioricet online without a prior prescription from your doctor. Our US licensed physicians will prescribe Fioricet for you, after filling our online form, for free.
Advantages of Hair Drug Tests
Hair drug testing is one of the convenient means of detecting drug abuse. This test can be performed almost at any place of your choice. Hair drug test is so accurate that it is almost impossible to adulterate the test samples. It is very simple to perform and detect five major drugs that are cocaine, marijuana, opiates, methamphetamine and phencyclidine.